New Democrats hold on to Toronto-Danforth seat.

TORONTO — Jack Layton's old riding will find itself a new MP Monday night and while the Liberal candidate got an election-day boost from party leader Bob Rae, it's widely believed to be the NDP's seat to lose. Craig Scott, an Osgoode Hall law professor, was the first to enter the race in December.

Photograph by: Tobi Cohen
, Postmedia News

TORONTO — The orange wave didn't end with Jack Layton — at least not in his old Toronto-Danforth riding, which elected another New Democrat Monday to replace the affable former leader who lost his battle with cancer in August.

With 155 polls reporting, Scott had received 59 per cent of the vote, with 14,291 ballots cast. Gordon was in second place with 28 per cent and 6,893 votes. Conservative candidate Andrew Keyes was a distant third with just five per cent of the vote.

As a large crowd in attendance at the NDP's victory party chanted his name, Scott appeared on stage, announcing, "Friends, it looks like the orange crush is here to stay and is not going anywhere.

"The people of Toronto-Danforth put their trust in one of the strongest official Oppositions in Canadian history. An Opposition that unites instead of divides, an Opposition that runs on positive energy, an Opposition that stands on principal and an Opposition, that like today, gets the job done."

Scott said this victory is just another step toward building a better Canada. The next one, he said, is on Saturday when New Democrats will convene to elect a new party leader.

Four of the leadership candidates — Thomas Mulcair, Brian Topp, Peggy Nash and Paul Dewar — were on hand for Scott's victory party, which felt like a precursor to the weekend convention.

Gordon feted Scott on his win in the closely watched byelection Monday night.

"I would like to congratulate Craig Scott on his victory tonight and all the candidates for a respectful and hard-fought campaign," the Liberal said in a statement.

"We did not win the riding today, but we can all be proud of the fact that we've narrowed a gap many said was insurmountable."

Rae also congratulated Scott in a statement late Monday night saying he ran a "hard-fought campaign."

He added that the Liberals had "made significant inroads" in the Toronto riding and that the NDP victory was a "strong rejection of the ideological politics of Stephen Harper and the Conservative party."

The NDP candidate had been actively campaigning, not so much to replace his party's beloved former leader, but to "follow in his footsteps," never quite "filling his shoes."

The 50-year-old Nova Scotian, who has called the Toronto-Danforth riding home for 21 years, knows he's got a lot to live up to since constituents have come to expect a lot from their representative. Scott said he looks forward to putting his expertise in climate change issues, international human rights, transnational corporate accountability, justice, arts and culture and gay rights to good use on Parliament Hill.

He's done a lot of work on the Afghan detainee file, has taught and written a number of policy papers about climate change and the green economy and as an openly gay politician, he hopes to be a "positive role model" for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth.

He's bilingual and also speaks a little Spanish, Italian and Mandarin.

He strongly supports the NDP's stance on pensions, childcare and a national housing strategy and hopes to add another voice to the party's roster of caucus members who can speak on issues related to law and justice.

Whether his wealth of expertise will translate into a prominent role on the party's front bench, he said, will be up to the next NDP leader, who will be chosen during a leadership convention Saturday in Toronto.

Liberal candidate Grant Gordon fell short in his bid to reclaim the riding that was held by his party for 16 years before Layton took it in 2004.

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TORONTO — Jack Layton's old riding will find itself a new MP Monday night and while the Liberal candidate got an election-day boost from party leader Bob Rae, it's widely believed to be the NDP's seat to lose. Craig Scott, an Osgoode Hall law professor, was the first to enter the race in December.

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